By Mallory Mattingly
TRUE DETECTIVE stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson want to make Texas the next Hollywood as they lobby for legislation that would draw movie and TV producers to the state.
Currently, the duo are advocating for Texas Senate Bill 22, which would give out “hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives” to movie and TV production in the state over the next 10 years, according to CBS Texas.
“If we pass this bill in Texas, we are immediately at the bargaining table for showing more films and television and commercials in our state immediately,” McConaughey said at a hearing.
While at the meeting with the state’s finance committee, the actor highlighted Tarrant County College’s (TCC) program that helps students connect with different film writers, directors and producers within the industry.
“One hundred percent of the students coming out of that program are employed, and getting employed,” McConaughey described. “But a whole lot more are needed. We need to scale this idea to more schools in Texas so we can provide a competent workforce wherever we need to film in our state.”
McConaughey explained how New Mexico and Georgia both provide more incentives to producers and filmmakers. To produce anything in Texas requires sacrifice, which McConaughey and Harrelson both experienced when filming a new comedy in the state.
“It’s a series that we both gave back 15% of our personal salaries to shoot here in Texas to keep us from having to go to Georgia,” McConaughey revealed.
Texas already experiences economic success from filming in the state, as Fort Worth Film Commissioner, Taylor Hardy, told CBS News Texas.
“Since the Fort Worth Film Commission was founded about 10 years ago, we’ve measured $700 million in economic impact and over 30,000 jobs supported. Those are over a period of time, but that’s almost the equivalent of another American Airlines headquarters in terms of the amount of jobs it’s created,” Hardy said.
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Forth Worth Mayor Mattie Parker also offered her support to McConaughey and Harrelson’s cause.
“We have seen first-hand the huge return on investment in Fort Worth alone,” she explained. “Since 2015, that includes $700 million in economic impact, 30,000 local jobs, and while that’s not all at one time, to put that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of having one American Airlines headquarters in our city.”
Chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, Republican Joan Huffman of Houston, added, “Over the life of the program, we’ve seen a significant economic impact on the state, over $2.5 billion in in-state spending and 189,000 Texas jobs created. For every dollar paid in a grant, $4.69 is spent in-state according to the office of Governor.”
McConaughey, a long-time Texas native, wants to do all he can to help the Lone Star state gain more attraction. With McConaughey and Harrelson’s efforts, the measure “passed the Texas Senate Finance committee unanimously and now heads to the full Senate, where it will be considered and likely passed this week,” a CBS News report said.
Will Texas be the next hub for the entertainment industry? If McConaughey and Harrelson have their way, we could see more productions coming from the state.
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